Phil Jackson has taken over the Knicks, and one of the big changes he’s bringing with him is a focus on mindfulness. Meditation has been scientifically proven to benefit athletes, but often they have a difficult time getting the practice started.
In this article from ESPN, Phil Jackson explains why…
“We’re about action; we’re about this intense activity that we’ve got to get after. And this mindfulness is about sitting still and being quiet and controlling your breath and allowing you to be in the moment, and yet it’s so vital for a team to have this skill or players to have this skill. To be able to divorce themselves from what just happened that’s inherent to them — a referee’s bad call, or an issue that goes on individually or against your opponent. You’ve got to be able to come back to your center and center yourself again.”
This article comes with a short video clip to share with the kids. When I showed it with my 7th graders this morning, they were able to come up with some great connections as to how meditation can help athletic performance… and then they asked when we were going to meditate again.
For free meditation resources for athletes, check out Smiling Mind’s Sports Program.
